Fireproof floor construction.



No. 754,574. l I PATBNTRI) MAR. I5, 1904. y

R. C. K YLR. TIRRPROOI FLOOR CONSTRUCTION.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 1'8, 1903.

No MODEL. 2 sHRBTs-sIIBLT-l.

No. 754,574. PATLNTLD MAR. 15, 1904.

R. c. KYLE. Y

FIREPRGOF FLOOR (.fONSTRUG'lION.A

APPLICATION FILED APR. 13,1903.

No MODEL. Y 2 SHEETS-SHEET z.

if L A Tas yonms PETERSpG. PHo'ro-LITHQ.. wnsnmmoufn, s:4

N. 754,574, l l Patented March 15, 1964i UNITED STATES"` PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT o. KYLE, OF COLUMBUS, OHIO, AssIeNOR' To 'THE INTERNATIONAL FENCE a FIRE BROOFINGrv COMPANY," OF COLUMBUS, OHIO, AcoRPoa RATION OF OHIO.-

FlREPRooF FLOOR CONSTRUCTION.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters PatentNo. 754,574, dated March 15, 1904..

L Application filed April 18, 1903. Serial No.153,279. (No model.)

T0 all wbOWI/ t may COW/067%: beam-engaging hooks, and Fig. 8 is a plan Be it known that I, ROBERT C. KYLE, a citi-v view of Fig. 7.

zen of the United States, residing at Columbus, Like ,characters of reference designate cor- 50 in the county of Franklin and State of Ohio, responding parts in each and every figure of 5 have invented a -certain new and useful Imthe drawings.

provement in Fireproof Floor Construction, As hereinbefore indicated, it is an imporof which the following is a specification. tant feature of the present invention to pro- This invention relates to building construc- `vide a support of minimum character for the 5 5 tions, and while it is primarily designed to probody of concrete which constitutes the major ro vide a flat arch construction for ceilings and part of the arch and also to reduce to the minifloors it is also designed to afford a fireproof mum the expansion and contraction of this supstructure. 4 porting element. Practical experience has de- Itis a further object of the invention to proveloped that I-beams and similar metallic sup- 6o vide for the construction ofV comparatively ports for a floor composed of concrete expand I 5 long arches orspans without additional interand contract to 'such an extent as to crack and mediate supports and in this connection to rematerially weaken the structure, and this is duce to the minimum the cast-metal parts, so as more noticeable in structures having metallic to obviate as far as possible contraction and eX- joists extending between metallic beams, as the 6 5 pansion in the supports for the body of conendwise expansion and contraction of the joists 2O crete which constitutes the major part of the tend to laterally displace the beams. 4To overstructure. come these objections, I propose to form the With these and other objects in view the skeleton support for the body of concrete of present invention consistsin the combination twisted-wire cables and wire-netting, either 7o and arrangement of parts, as'will'be hereinafsingly or in combination. The advantage of 2 5 ter more fully described, shown in the accomcables over cast-metal beams resides in the fact panying drawings, and particularly pointed that there is practically no contraction and eX- out in the appended claims, it being underpansionof the cables and the tensile strength stood that changes in the form, proportion, thereof is very much greater than that of the 75 size, and minor ldetails may be made within beams. Furthermore, thecables can be more y 3o the scopeof the claims withoutdepa'rting from conveniently handled in great lengths, and the. spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages therefore may be employed as continuous ties of the invention. from wall to wall, and the weight thereof is In the drawings, Figure l is a plan view considerably less than that of rigid beams. 8o showing the skeleton support of the present Again, cables have practically no vibration,

3 5 invention, the concrete body being omitted. while rigid beams have considerablevibration, Fig. 2 is a sectional view thereof, including whichis an objection in any building structure, the body of concrete and the flooring thereon. andparticularly in tall buildings and in'long Fig. 3 is a similarview of a single span bespans or arches. 8 5 tween opposite walls without an intermediate For an adequate understanding of the pres- 40 support. Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken beent invention attention is rst called to Figs. tween two I-beams and embodying a trussed 1 and 2 of the drawings,wherein the reference form of support for the concreteV body. Fig. character l designates opposite masonry walls Y 5 is a similar view showing'a modiiication of of a building, and 2designates the other oppo- 90 the trussed support. Fig. 6 is a detail persite masonry walls. As is usual, suitable beams 45 spective view of the construction shown in 3, preferablymetallic I-beams, have their ends Fig. 5, the concrete body being omitted. Fig. seated in recesses in opposite walls, in the 7 is a detail side elevation of one of the I- present instance in the opposite walls 1, in

any well-known or preferred manner. Thus far the construction described is that now commonly in use, and in carrying out this invention twisted-wire cables 4 are strung across the I-beams 3 at substantially right angles thereto, with their ends anchored in the respective walls Q-as, for instance, by means of suitable hooks 5, embedded in said walls. No particular tension is placed upon the cables other than that required to properly dispose the same. It is preferred to run each cable over the top of each I-beam and to anchor the same thereto, a specific form of anchorage being best illustrated in Figs. 7 and 8 of the drawings, although indicated in several of the other figures. This specific form of anchorage consists of a longitudinally-bifurcated hook 6, the adjacent cable being received within the bifurcation, and an adjustable fastening, preferably a bolt 8, pierces the bifurcated portion of the hook-so as to clamp the members thereof upon the cable, the bill of the hook being engaged with one edge of the head or top iange of the adjacent I-beam. As plainly indicated in Fig. 6 of the drawings, itwill be seen that these hooks are grouped in pairs, the members of which are reversely arranged-that is to say, their bills extend in opposite directions-so that one hook engages one side of the I-beam and the other hook engages the opposite side thereof, whereby the cable is anchored against endwise movement in either direction. From this description it willbe understood that in addition to being anchored at opposite ends each cable is also intermediately anchored at a plurality of points,

according to the number of floor-beams between the terminals of the cable. By reference more particularly to Fig. 2 of the drawings it will be seen that the cable extends downwardly at an abrupt incline from the top of each beam to a point near the bottom thereof, and for the greater portion of its length and substantially horizontal.

vform a skeleton support for the body of concrete 10, which extends from the bottoms to y the tops of the I-beams, and the top of the concrete is faced with tile, boards, or other suitable material 11 to form a proper finish. 'It will here be noted that between each pair of I-beams the major portion of the cables and the netting lie close to the bottom of the body of concrete and in the same plane thereof, whereby the support is located in the best possible position for sustaining the body of concrete. This fact will be more fully under'-l stood from the fact that should the concrete split or crack from top to bottom the weight thereof has a tendency to depress the concrete along the edges of the crack, and thereby cause the separated portions of the concrete to spread apart at the bottoms thereof, and by locating the skeleton support as close as possible to the bottom of the concrete this tendency to separate is elfectually obviated, and any cracking or splitting of the concrete does not tend to weaken the arch to any considerable extent.

As shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings, it will be seen that intermediate supports, such as I- beams, are not absolutely necessary; but this simplest form of construction can be used only in comparatively short spans or arches, although the length thereof may be somewhat greater than the ordinary interval between Hoor-beams.

In some instances, particularly in long arches or where the weight to be sustained is abnormal, it is necessary to strengthen the skeleton support, and this feature of the invent'ion is carried out as indicated in Figs. 4, 5, and 6. For strengthening the skeleton support it is proposed to employ a trussed arrangement consisting of struts 12, rising from the cables, with inclined braces or tension-rods 13 leading from the outer ends of the struts to the respective cables. Furthermore, cross bars or rods 14 connect adjacent cables and are located at the lower ends of the tensionrods 13 and the struts 12, and other cross bars or rods 15 connect the outer ends of opposite struts, all of this trussed framework being embedded in the cement or concrete. Figs. 5 and 6 show the simplest form of this trussed feature, while Fig. 4 shows a slight modification, wherein adjacent braces or tension-rods are crossed, each of said rods extending from the outer end of one strut to the lower end of the next adjacent strut. rThis crossed arrangement of tension-rod is preferably located substantially midway between opposite supports or beams.

From the foregoing description it is apparent that the present invention obviates the employment of cast-metal j oists between` castmetal beams and in lieu thereof employs twistedwire cables extending continuously from one outer wall to the opposite wall, whereby the cables in addition to supporting the concrete body also form ties for the Walls of the building. By the employment of cables vibration is reduced to the minimum. This is also true in the modified form employing the trussed rods, as the latter are supported solely upon the cables, and whatever slight vibration they may have is not imparted to the I-beams.

Having thus described the invention, what l is claimed, and desired to be secured by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a reproof floor construction, the combination with spaced supports, of cables bridging the space between the supports and independently anchored to said supports, netting;

, ports.

2. In a iireproofiioor construction, the combination with Hoor-beams, of cables running across the beams, netting also running across the beams and supported upon the upper sides of the cables between the beams, and a body of concrete in which the beams, cables and netting are embedded.

3. The combination with the walls of a building, of floor-beams supported upon opposite walls, cables running across the beams and anchored to the other opposite walls to form ties therefor, netting also running across the beams and supported upon the uppersides of the cables between the beams, andl a body of concrete in which the beams, cables and netting are embedded, the cables and netting being sagged between the beams to lie adjacent to the bottom of the body of concrete and in substantially the same plane therewith.

4. 'Ihe combination with the walls of a building, of floor-beams supported upon opposite walls, continuous cables crossing and supported by the beams and anchored to other opposite walls to form ties therefor, said cables extending in a continuous direction between each and every pair of beams, netting supported by the cables, and a body of cement in which the beams, cables and netting are embedded, the cables and netting being disposed adjacent to the bottom of the body of cement and in substantially the same plane therewith.

5. In a iireproof floor construction, the combination with supporting I-beams, of cables arranged between said I-beams, pairs of oppositely disposed hooks connected with said cables and adapted to engage opposite sides of the heads of respective I-beams, netting arranged on said cables, and a body of concrete inclosing said netting and cables between said I-beams.

6. The combination with opposite supports, of cables secured thereto and extending between the same with their intermediate portions located in a plane below the points of connection between the cables and the supports,transverse rods connecting the depressed portions of the cables, truss-braces extending between the struts and the cables, and a body of concrete in which the cables, rods, struts and braces are embedded.

7. The combination with opposite supports, of cables extending between and running over the tops of the supports, pairs of hooks carried by the cables, the members of each pair of hooks being reversely arranged and engaging the opposite upper edges of the respective supports to anchor the cables thereto against movement ineither direction, and a body of concrete in which the cables are embedded.

8. The combination with opposite supports, of cables extending between the supports, pairs of hooks carried by the cables, each hook being bifurcated and receiving the adjacent cable in the bifurcation thereofLand also provided with means to clamp the opposite side portions of the hook upon the cable, the members of each pair of hooks being reversely arranged with their bills engaging the opposite upper edges of the support, and a body of concrete in which the cables are embedded.

9. The combination with opposite supports, of cables extending between the supports, hooks upon the cables, each hook being bifurcated and receiving the adjacent cable in the bifurcation, and provided with means for clamping the opposite side portions of the hook upon the cable, each hook having its bill engaging the top of the adjacent support, and a body of concrete in which the cables are embedded. A

10. The combination with opposite supports, of cables extending between the same, hooks upon the cables and engaging the supports, each hook being bifurcated and receiving the adjacent cable in the bifurcation, screwthreaded fastenings piercing the opposite sides of the hooks to clamp the same upon the cables, and a body of concrete in which the cables are embedded.

1l. The combination with opposite supports, of cables extending between the same, hooks upon the cables and engaging the supports, each hook being bifurcated and receiving the adjacent cable in the bifurcation, fastenings carried by the hooks for clamping them upon the cables, transverse rods connecting thecables, struts rising from some of the rods at their points of crossing the cables, truss-braces extending between the struts and the cables, a wire-netting Asupported upon the cables and the rods, and a body of concrete in which the cables, rods, struts, braces and netting are embedded.

- ROBERT C. KYLE.

In presence of- A. L. PHELPs, C. C. SHEPHERD.

IOO 

